Part XII

Alexis was tired of apologizing. She was tired of offering excuses for the police commissioner, the district attorney and the law itself. She had obviously tried every trick in the book to get her brother released, to prove his innocence. There were simply no more reasons she could offer that Stefan was still sleeping behind bars and eating from a flimsy plastic tray. Yet his eyes were begging for more reasons, or begging to simply be left alone.

The bars were cold against her wrist and seemed to get smaller and smaller each time she visited. Alexis wiggled her fingers until she felt the familiar roughness of her brother's skin. It seemed to be such a great effort for him to lift his arm and clasp her hand. Hours and hours of doing nothing but sitting on a hard, lumpy cot was the greatest cause of exhaustion.

It was more of a burden to Stefan for Alexis and Nikolas to see him in a prison cell than to actually be inside one. It was more humiliating for Nikolas to have to reach his hand between steel bars just to touch his own uncle than for Stefan's picture to be published in the newspaper. He was more hurt by the pain flashing in his sister's eyes than the bold captions under those gray photographs that pronounced him a murderer.

Even though she had promised herself she would not apologize anymore for something that had gone beyond her control, the words escaped her lips. "I'm sorry."

Stefan's chin dropped to his chest for a long moment and then he looked up. His dry lips were curling into a half smile. He squeezed her hand even tighter inside his own, Alexis' skin whitening at the pressure. "You mustn't feel responsible, Alexis," he told her, his voice gruff. It hurt to speak, it hurt when his tongue wet his cracked lips. It hurt every time he saw her, knowing that this was how he might have to see her for the rest of his life; behind bars.

"I know. Believe me, I know. But..."

"But what, Alexis?" Stefan asked, his tone becoming more annoyed. He suddenly dropped her hand and stood up. His careless movements shook the chair he had been sitting on, made it wobble on four unsteady legs. The sound echoed inside the tiny cell. He dropped down onto the cot pushed against the wall. The springs squeaked beneath him.

Alexis sank back in her chair, recoiling like a frightened child. She wanted to disappear the way she had when they were children and he would correct her mistakes. His voice had always been so loud and domineering, his stance so sturdy and firm. And now his voice was shallow and lost, his posture crooked and weak. She had never seen his shoulders slumped.

"Did we not promise to be completely honest with each other?" Stefan asked, and she nodded with tears glazing her eyes. "I thought so. Which is why I need you to tell me the truth right now. Can you do that?"

She nodded, rising from her chair. Alexis pressed the front of her body against the bars, reaching her arms through them, hugging them. She didn't have to wait for the rest of his question to speak. "We're going to have to go to trial. There is enough evidence, even if we know it was all manufactured by Helena, to convict you of attempted murder," Alexis said, trying to control the fear and sadness in her voice. "I don't see how I can continue to represent you. I don't see how..."

"Alexis?" Stefan stood up, crossing the short distance to reach the bars. He rest his hands over hers.

She lowered her voice until it was almost impossible for even Stefan to hear it. "I don't see how I can be anywhere near this trial. I want to testify on your behalf, but I couldn't lie on the stand. I would have to name Lucky as my shooter. We can't let this go to trial. We have to find Helena and we have to find a way to convict her of the crime, Stefan. Before it's too late and everyone's lives are ruined."

"I know," he admitted sadly. He reached up, reached through the bars and cupped her face with the palms of his hands. Her tears were warm and sticky against his skin. Stefan swallowed hard and said, "You must remain strong. I'm relying on you to take care of Nikolas and to find a lawyer we can trust."

Her eyes widened. "Don't you think I already have enough on my plate?" Alexis asked, half joking but mostly serious.

"I know you are under a lot of stress. If I could take some of the weight off your shoulders, I would."

She nodded and smiled. "I know you would. We're all going to need a very long and expensive vacation when this is over."

Stefan smiled sincerely for the first time in days. He ignored the guard looming obnoxiously across the hall and leaned forward, pressing a kiss against Alexis' forehead. Her wispy bangs tickled his lips and left him with a smell to remember; gardenias.

"I have a meeting with the DA," Alexis said, glancing at her watch. "I'm going to find a lawyer, Stefan. I'm going to do everything I can to make sure you're set free and Lucky is free and... we're all set free."

"And I know that you will," he said, rubbing imaginary circles over the top of her hand. He bent down and kissed her knuckles, letting his lips linger against the soft skin. "I love you, Alexis."

She nodded and held his gaze, her voice lost somewhere inside her tight chest. But she mouthed the words and knew he heard her clearly. Alexis took her purse and loose file folders from the floor. She couldn't make herself turn and walk away. It wasn't until Stefan walked to his cot and sat down that she left with reluctance.

He maneuvered on the uncomfortable bed until he was laying down. Stefan stretched his legs out in front of him and crossed his arms behind his head. He tried resisting the urge to give up. He tried believing that the loud tapping of his sister's heels against the slick, hard floor wasn't going to become a common sound. And somewhere deep inside Stefan's heavy heart, he did believe. It was just getting harder and harder to hold onto.

~*~

There were two tall, slender glasses filled with iced tea waiting on the table. The ice cubes rattled as Lucky wrapped his hand around one, the condensation cold and wet against his palm. He sighed and closed his eyes as the liquid touched his tongue and coated his dry throat. He finally pulled the rim away from his lips and realized he had downed almost the entire glass at once. He shrugged and set it carelessly back onto the table.

"My, my. You must have had quite the work out," Helena said as she entered the room.

He wiped the beads of perspiration that created a path from his hairline down his temple. Lucky nodded and reached into his glass, grabbing one of the large ice cubes. He pressed it against his forehead because he know it would disgust Helena. He did it because he knew it wasn't something men in her company ever did.

Helena hid her reaction and simply reached for her own glass, taking dainty sips of the tea. She wiped the corners of her mouth with a thick cloth napkin. Smears of her red lipstick were left on the cloth and Lucky twinged; it looked like blood.

"I'm very tired," he finally spoke, breathless.

"I'm sure you are. Before you can rest, Lucky, we need to have a conversation. Please, sit down," Helena said, pointing to the sofa.

Lucky took several deep breaths and felt his heart beat return to normal. He sat down, draping one arm over the back of the sofa. "What is it, Helena?" He asked in his most cooperative voice.

Her eyes were full of pure joy. ''Sick joy' is how Lucky labeled the unnatural gleam. There was no need for her to even speak, to even answer his question. He already knew it was about Alexis. She was going to tell him anyway.

"Do you remember when I said we had been given a second chance? A second chance to correct your mistake?" Helena asked. She patted his hand when Lucky nodded. "Good. Because the time has come to fix that mistake, Lucky. The time has come to do away with Alexis once and for all."

Lucky waited to roll his eyes in disgust until Helena stood and turned away from him. He watched her pace the room in circles, rubbing her hands together slowly. He could almost hear the wheels spinning in her head. He could almost see a plan formulating. "What do I you need me to do?"

She smiled proudly, relieved. Helena turned to face him and said, "You know I don't like to brag, but it's rather amazing. It's also terribly ironic how things work. All this time I was thinking my plan had been foiled because Alexis was alive and Stefan probably wasn't going to remain in prison. I was afraid I had failed to kill Alexis, but I was wrong. This time it will work. This time she'll die a rather quiet death. A natural passing. There will be no one to free Stefan. There will be no one to care for Nikolas. Only his caring, concerned grandmother and a loving brother." She released a breath that was also a sound of pure pleasure, pure happiness with herself. She walked to the doorway and said, "This is going to work, Lucky. No one is going to get in my way this time."

He nodded and smiled until she left the room. Lucky waited until he was sure she was long gone and reached into his pocket. "It's amazing the things you can find when you're really determined," he said aloud, taking a mini recorder from the pocket of his jacket. He pressed the button marked "rewind" and quietly replayed Helena's words.

"No one is going to get in my way this time," she had said, so impressed by her own plan.

Lucky smirked and slipped the recorder back into his pocket. "That's what you think."

~*~

When he first walked in the door and saw her reclining on the sofa, his instinct was to make a snide remark to express his shock at her actually being home. Jax clamped his jaw shut and slid his briefcase onto the desk instead. He loosened his tie, letting it hang open around his neck. He pulled on one side of his crisp, white shirt and let the first few buttons pop open.

"Hi," Alexis said, finally breaking the awkward silence.

He nodded and crossed the floor, dropping down onto the couch with an exhausted sigh. Jax thought about tearing into her and accusing her of spending all day with Luke Spencer. He realized it wasn't really his business; they had never promised anything and Alexis was free to be with whomever she wanted. Even Luke Spencer. He considered being childish and ignoring her, but the though of losing her friendship was too great a risk. So he smiled and said, "Hi. You look positively knocker."

Alexis' eyes screwed themselves into tiny, puzzled slants. She cocked her head to the side and asked cautiously, "Is that a good thing?"

"On you," he laughed, "yes. Even thoroughly exhausted is a good look on you." Jax reached forward, his hand diving into the bowl of popcorn she had resting on the coffee table. He tossed the fluffy, salty puffs into his mouth one after another. He was hungry, but it was also a good way to avoid conversation.

Alexis sat up. She straightened the loose papers in her hands, rearranging them into a neat pile before slipping them into a folder. She closed the phone book that had been draped open on her lap and dropped pushed the phone away. She raked her fingers through her hair and said, "I think I'm blind. I've been searching through that phone book for hours."

"What for?" Jax asked, munching on the popcorn. She shrugged, not wanting to discuss her brother or Helena any longer. "You know... I passed a great house that's for sale. It was only a few blocks away from Nikolas' cottage."

"Oh," Alexis sighed. "I didn't realize you were in the market for a house."

Jax shook his head. "I'm not. I thought... well, I just assumed that you'd be leaving."

A sick feeling knotted Alexis' stomach. She stood up and sat beside Jax, folding one leg beneath her to face him. "Do you want me to leave? Because I will. I wasn't intending to, really. Just because of what happened-"

"Alexis, I'm sorry. I'm not trying to kick you out. I was assuming that with what happened, you'd be wanting to leave."

"Just because I don't want a romantic relationship doesn't mean I don't want to live with you as a friend. But if it's too difficult, I will leave. If you want me to," Alexis told him, sputtering on her every word.

Jax began to grind his teeth, frustrated and uncomfortable. When she reached for his hand, he flinched and rose from the couch. He paced the floor and said, "Can we please not talk about this anymore?"

"Okay. I'm sorry," she apologized quietly, nervously fidgeting with her fingers.

"This is great," he sneered under his breath. He pointed his gaze at Alexis and spoke clearly, "I don't want things to be so uncomfortable between us. But maybe it would be best if you found a new place to stay. I'm not asking you to leave immediately or anything."

She nodded in agreement. "I understand, Jax. I think it might be best." She realized she was lying. Alexis relied on coming home to Jax. She relied too much on his kindness, his shoulder to cry on and his dedication to listening to every word she spoke. She opened her mouth to speak when the muffled sound of her cellular phone ringing in her purse broke her concentration.

Alexis scrambled across the room and found her purse hiding beneath her crumpled jacket. She answered it wordlessly and heard the familiar sound of Luke's raspy breaths after a long beat. "Hey, babe," he said. "We gotta talk."

"I know," she admitted.

"Meet me at Kelley's in fifteen minutes."

"Thirty," she corrected him, hanging up before she was even sure he heard her. Alexis turned to face Jax. She began to speak, telling him, "I'm gonna have to go. It's about Stefan."

Jax shrugged and walked away in the middle of her words. He stopped just outside of his bedroom, leaning against the wall. He held a hand over his forehead. He thought about his conversation with Helena and what he had seen of Lucky Spencer. He knew the right thing was to tell Alexis, to talk about it as though she hadn't broken his heart. But she did break his heart. He had been doing the right thing, the honorable and perfect thing, for far too long. He wasn't about to let something happen to Alexis but he wasn't about to surrender all of his knowledge. He had to hold onto something.

~*~

She jiggled the doorknob and was surprised when it was not locked. Alexis let herself into the diner and called out, "Luke. Luke!" When she didn't hear or see him, she rolled her eyes and hollered, "This better not be a setup. I'm very cranky tonight."

"Good thing," Luke drawled, pushing through the kitchen doors. "'Cause I was hoping to have a reason to loosen you up tonight."

Alexis ignored him and walked to the counter. She slammed her purse down and hopped onto one of the stools, folding her arms in front of her. "What did you want to talk about?"

"Getting right to the point. I like that in a woman," he smiled, winking at her. Luke took a drink from the bottle of beer he had been holding before setting it on the counter. "Do you want anything?"

She shook her head. "I didn't come here to eat."

"So. Do you want anything?"

Alexis shook her head again. "I've heard rumors about your disastrous cooking. I'm not in the mood to die of food poisoning tonight. But maybe some other time," she said, tapping her fingers impatiently on the counter top.

Luke shrugged and said, "Your loss."

In the quiet of the room, Alexis hoped he didn't hear her stomach rumble. She cleared her throat and coughed to hide the noise. "Well," she drew the word out, sitting up to see the kitchen through the open window on the wall across from her. "Maybe just a little something. Do you have ice cream?"

Luke chuckled and bent down, leaning on the counter. She could feel his breath and smell the stale beer as he spoke, "Do I have ice cream? Darlin', I've got the world's most incredible chocolate sundae just waiting for you. Hold tight." He pressed a quick kiss on the tip of her nose before disappearing in the kitchen.

Alexis twirled on the stool while she waited for him. She was surprised, pleasantly surprised, at how comfortable she felt being alone with him. She loved how dark the room was, and how the murky moonlight poured through the cracks in the blinds and cast a pale glow on everything. She had never taken the time to admire how quaint the diner was.

Her attention was taken from her surroundings to the kitchen doors. Alexis knew she was no whiz in the kitchen, but she did know it didn't take so much time or effort to make an ice cream sundae. Various dishes clattered to the floor and words like "damn" and "ouch" reached her ears. "You okay in there?" Alexis shouted just as the doors opened.

Luke appeared, wearing more ice cream and chocolate sauce than what was in the bowl. He circled around the counter and placed the bowl and two spoons in front of Alexis. He hopped onto the stool beside her, taking a spoon and diving into the cold, velvet cream.

"This is pretty good," Alexis commented, licking her spoon clean.

"I know. All we need is a little music." He hopped back down onto the floor, sauntering to the jukebox. The smooth sounds of Ella Fitzgerald filled the room. He closed his eyes and danced back to the counter. "Now it's perfect."

Alexis took another bite and then set her spoon down. She looked at Luke, pursing her lips before saying, "I'm really sorry about how I acted earlier. And the day before, and the day before that and... well, you get the picture."

"Apology accepted. And I'm sorry to for... for... I'm sure I have somethin' to be sorry for."

She nodded, twirling her spoon through the melting cream. "It's just in my nature to over analyze everything. And when something happens that I don't quite understand, something I can't explain on paper or in front of a judge... I get a little rattled. A little scared. I don't want you to think-"

"Alexis," he interrupted, scooting onto the edge of the already small seat. "You know what I think? I think you talk to much."

"But I thought that was why you asked me here. To talk."

Luke shrugged. He reached for the cherry floating in the melted ice cream and dangled it in front of her lips. When her mouth opened and her teeth bit into the round, juicy cherry, he lowered his voice to a husky whisper and said, "Plans change."

The cherry slipped down Alexis' throat before she had a chance to chew and swallow it. She licked her lips, tilting her head to the side. As his face came near to her's and she felt the heat of his mouth grow closer, she panted, "I missed you," and wound her arms around his neck.

Luke slipped off the stool, landing shakily on his feet. He stood in front of her, turning Alexis on the stool until her back was pressed to the counter. His tongue darted out of his mouth and Luke touched the tip to Alexis' chin, licking the path of juice that dribbled from her lips. He moved his tongue along the curve of her bottom lip, to the top and then plundered the recesses of her mouth. She sank against him, groaning deep in her throat.

**the remainder of this chapter has been edited out, and if you're over 18, you can e-mail me and I'll send it to you**